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jstilts's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Grim, dark and a little nasty - but all beats this graphic novel is aiming for in both the story and the art style. At first glance (especially given some of the cover art) Dead Space appears to be Zombies-In-Space, but that's really not what is going on here - it's more a tale of mass hysteria.
I won't spoil the plot - which it carefully reveals piece by piece - but Dead Space follows a mining colony that uncovers an artifact on a distant world that strangely resembles objects of religious significance to many, and appears to have a dangerous affect on everyone's state of mind. It's a little unsettling, and has plenty of gory moments.
The art style suits the story very well, and adds an extra layer of unsettling animalistic tension as - even before things get weird - everyone is drawn with long tall gumless teeth, talon-like fingers, lumpy or gristle-like features and everything and everyone is watercoloured with a grimy wash. There's probably a name for this art style, and while it sounds like I'm criticising it I'm not - it's very effective.
While this isn't quite my sort of thing, I recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of nihilistic space opera to change things up a bit - but you may want to read it during daylight hours!
I won't spoil the plot - which it carefully reveals piece by piece - but Dead Space follows a mining colony that uncovers an artifact on a distant world that strangely resembles objects of religious significance to many, and appears to have a dangerous affect on everyone's state of mind. It's a little unsettling, and has plenty of gory moments.
The art style suits the story very well, and adds an extra layer of unsettling animalistic tension as - even before things get weird - everyone is drawn with long tall gumless teeth, talon-like fingers, lumpy or gristle-like features and everything and everyone is watercoloured with a grimy wash. There's probably a name for this art style, and while it sounds like I'm criticising it I'm not - it's very effective.
While this isn't quite my sort of thing, I recommend it to anyone looking for a bit of nihilistic space opera to change things up a bit - but you may want to read it during daylight hours!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders
science fiction, infection,gore, religion,mass hysteriabrandonadaniels's review
3.0
I’ve only played. It’s and pieces of the games, but I love the genre, and I’m a big fan of Ben Templesmith, so I decided to give a few of these graphic novels a shot. This one is better than Liberation, but it’s still just okay. The story is pretty interesting and easy to follow. Ben’s not the best at making characters distinguishable, especially with such a limited color palette, so I did get a little confused a few times, but it’s a pretty simple story.
phantom_25's review
3.0
The art style is a bit iffy for me and I don't feel like I got much out of this prequel for Dead Space video game.
ktjawrites's review against another edition
5.0
While the art style didn’t do much for me, I’m always going to appreciate any and all Dead Space content.
silenthillda's review against another edition
4.0
I’m a huge Survival horror gamer fan. I’ve played many of the staples from Silent Hill to Resident Evil to Fatal Frame, you name it. Dead Space universe is in my top 5 favorite series in the genre. The remake for this 10+ year old series’ first adventure is set to release at the end of this month (January 27, 2023) and I am going down memory lane re-reading/finishing many of the franchise’s forms of media. The movies, comics, spin-off games, and books I will be devouring. I have finished the novels, now onto the comics/Graphic novels. I remember watching the motion comics released before the game and being creeped out and mesmerized by it.
One thing that’s really cool about this graphic novel is that there’s a character glossary at the start of the book. We get several paragraphs of origins for the cast we’re gonna follow during the adventure. Don’t skip this. Commit to reading it all. It’s really appreciated and gives great insight to motivations and insights for a person. We follow multiple perspectives of a colony that have mined a marker on a planet. This is also a somewhat direct prequel that leads into the games. Of course in old fashion dead space manner, craziness ensues. What brings this story to life is Ben Templesmith off-kilter art. The rough edges and muted color palette helps heighten the tension. Gruesome deaths await in signature dead space fashion. The motion comic I remembered and was nostalgic for back in the day was basically this comic but with added voice acting. I highly recommend this to all fans of the lore. Also watch the CG film DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL which is a perfect companion to this graphic novel since it takes place right after the events that just transpired.
One thing that’s really cool about this graphic novel is that there’s a character glossary at the start of the book. We get several paragraphs of origins for the cast we’re gonna follow during the adventure. Don’t skip this. Commit to reading it all. It’s really appreciated and gives great insight to motivations and insights for a person. We follow multiple perspectives of a colony that have mined a marker on a planet. This is also a somewhat direct prequel that leads into the games. Of course in old fashion dead space manner, craziness ensues. What brings this story to life is Ben Templesmith off-kilter art. The rough edges and muted color palette helps heighten the tension. Gruesome deaths await in signature dead space fashion. The motion comic I remembered and was nostalgic for back in the day was basically this comic but with added voice acting. I highly recommend this to all fans of the lore. Also watch the CG film DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL which is a perfect companion to this graphic novel since it takes place right after the events that just transpired.
tinfoilpotatoe's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
samstephens's review
3.0
Cool art, the plot is yet another zombie virus from out of space thing. It's the prequel to a video game...
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